Nyzier Fourqurean is anxiously awaiting the decision on his filed injunction to play this season. Judge Conley has now received what he needed from both parties, and a decision should come in the next week or so. In a recent appearance on ESPN Madison, Wisconsin great Barry Alvarez was asked what his thoughts were on the whole situation, and he thinks the NCAA should care more about the student athlete.
The case is about eligibility. Fourqurean played two years at Grand Valley State, a Division 2 school, and then transferred to Wisconsin, where he has played for two more years, following the news of Diego Pavia, which allowed JUCO players to not count those years. Fourqurean worked to get extra eligibility, citing that D2 is in a similar category.
Whether that is right or wrong now is not the problem. The real problem now is that, due to the lawsuits and their timelines, Fourqurean has been caught in a situation where he may actually jeopardize his future in the NFL, as he can't play this year.
Nyzier Fourqurean is in a tough position because of the NCAA's black and white thinking
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Initially, the district court ruled in Fourqurean's favor. This allowed Fouqurean to go all-in with Wisconsin, assuming he would be good to go, forgoing the draft or any of those extra NFL workouts. Then, the NCAA appealed, and Fourqurean was informed that he was no longer eligible. Now, he's filing a hardship waiver because he can't go back in the draft; he would have to sit out a year.
Making his case less about D2 eligibility and more about Fourqurean getting screwed by the NCAA's lawsuit timeline. Luke Fickell has weighed in and even filed documents for Fourqurean, and now Barry Alvarez has publicly stated how the NCAA should rule on this issue.
"I haven't agreed with the NCAA too often and in my opinion you should always rule, if it's close, if it's 50-50, always rule toward the student-athlete. That's what they should be thinking...Sometimes they are so black and white that there is no human element that's involved. They [NCAA] are all working because of the student athletes and I think they sometimes forget that. I think in this case, you should be looking in favor of the student athlete. "Barry Alvarez
This is essentially what head coach Luke Fickell said earlier this offseason: that he hoped the NCAA would consider the human aspect of the situation.
Hopefully, this week, the Badgers and Nyzier Fourqurean receive good news, and he will be able to play this season. He would love to join his teammates and help out a defense that pitched its first shutout under Fickell.